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Change In Hancock Co.

Hancock County School administrators and board members are learning the consequences of poor leadership ­—mainly the transformation from decision-makers to spectators. At this week’s Hancock County Board of Education meeting, new superintendent Walt Saunders informed both the audience and the board about how meetings will run for the foreseeable future. The board will hold meetings, but all decisions will come not from the board, but from the West Virginia Department of Education. Such is reality after the state department took over Hancock County Schools due to gross ...

Black History Month Is a Time To Reflect

Black History Month 2026 offers a chance to look at the impact Black Americans have made on our lives, and a special chance to reflect on an event that has been a part of the nation’s calendar for 100 years. “A Century of Black History Commemoration” is the theme that has been selected this year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the founders of Black History Month. It’s a wide-ranging topic, and one that puts the focus on how the commemoration of Black history has evolved during the past 100 years, and the impact it has had on the status of ...

Gillespie an Inspiration

Heather Gillespie has been making an impact in disability advocacy in the Ohio Valley for a long time. Now she’s making history. Gillespie, a Moundsville resident, recently was named Ms. Wheelchair West Virginia. With that honor, she is the first West Virginian to be so recognized by Ms. Wheelchair America. A 1999 car crash left Gillespie paralyzed at just age 19. Doctors after the crash told her she had just 24 hours to live. She showed them she had so much more to live for and made the most of it every day. Just living her life day to day is an inspiration to others, as she ...

‘Gateway to the West’ Another Big Success

The Highlands Sports Complex was packed once again this past weekend, with the whirring and buzzing of hordes of robots filling the air. The VEX Robotics “Gateway to the West” returned to the facility, bringing dozens of middle school and high school teams from California to Canada and elsewhere to Ohio County to show off their expertise. Even a massive snowstorm couldn’t keep the tournaments from running. The storm did keep some middle school teams home, but there was a full slate of high school teams going head to head at The Highlands. That not only speaks to the devotion ...

Lifesavers Earn Recognition

When Bob Montgomery walked through the entrance of the Shadyside High School gymnasium Saturday, he got a well-deserved round of applause. There were several other people in that gym who earned applause as well. If not for them, Montgomery might not have been able to walk through that door. Montgomery was officiating a Shadyside-Caldwell boys basketball game on Dec. 12, when he collapsed on the court and went into full cardiac arrest. As shocking as the scene was, several people jumped right into action. Fellow official E.J. Schodzinski started CPR. One nurse, Koty Jennewein, was at ...

Income Tax Cuts Must Be Sensible

Though Gov. Patrick Morrisey may have had the weight of Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist behind him on his recent visit to Parkersburg, the reality is unchanged: Lawmakers have already put in place a mechanism to reduce what West Virginians pay in income tax, and the state did not meet markers to trigger another cut as recently as August. Despite that, Morrisey has gone from pitching a 5% to 10% income tax cut to going all-in at 10%. “West Virginians deserve to keep more of what they earn,” Morrisey said. “We tightened the budget, made tough choices, and put ...